I'm Never The One- The Betrayal
by tempestx
Summary: SEQUEL TO I'M NEVER THE ONE. This is the story of Rayna Jenna Gilbert- Elena Gilbert's infamous sister whose survival is more imperative than that of her Doppelganger twin. She is used to being second, third, or even last choice. Until now. Klaus/OC/Stefan
1. Chapter 1

**A/N-This is the sequel to I'm Never The One. I'm sorry that the summary is pretty much the same, but I couldn't think of another. Anyone reading this story, it would probably make slightly more sense if you read INTO first. This is just a short Prologue, but I hope it is enjoyed just as much. I'm not very happy with it but I promise you the chapters will be a ****_lot_**** better.**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

Water. It was everywhere. Someone shook my body, and my eyes focused in the dark depths of the lake to see my sister.

"Elena." I tried to say.

She was safe. Alive. We both were.

I looked sharply to my left to see Matt, eyes closed, unconcscious.

My fingers made their way to his neck and I nodded to her, signalling the presence of his pulse.

The next seconds passed so slowly.

I watched my sister, as she clung onto the naive hope she always seemed to possess. She banged her elbows against the windows, struggled to open the car doors, but to no avail.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, eerily calm. I was never one to give up.

But I silenced her anyway.

We reached some sort of unspoken agreement then. She grasped my hands in hers tightly and her words came out in bubbles, but I understood.

"I love you too." I tried to say.

But I was numb. I think we both were, in a sense. Numb to pain, because we could never feel a physical pain that was worse than what we'd already experienced before.

My lips parted and eyes widened as I saw her eyes close.

"Elena! ELENA!" I screamed, shaking her.

Big mistake.

The water rushed into my mouth and the instinct to inhale became overbearing as the pain in my lungs intensified. The numbness was gone.

"ELENA!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped my head around to see Stefan. I shook my head at him, and gestured towards Matt.

He looked back at me, to see my unvanquished expression.

He held out his hand again to me, but I shook my head, clenching my hands into fists so as not to be tempted to take his hand.

I watched him quickly drag Matt out of the car and swim away, and I turned back to my sister, struggling to unfasten her seatbelt.

Her eyes were closed.

I dragged her out of the car, and pulled again on her shoulders. I dragged her arms up and watched her float up to the surface.

I did as Klaus would have told me.

I gave it my_ best shot._

Only, this time, I didn't succeed.

So when I pushed against the water, and kicked against the truck to push myself upwards, I inhaled deeply.

I held on tightly to my talisman, and closed my eyes tightly.

The last thing I saw was a radiant blue light reflecting in Stefan's eyes as he swam towards me.

* * *

**Not much, I know :( Will be updating asap. Until then, please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"...You were in an accident."

My head was still spinning, my vision blurred.

"Elena-"

"She's f- she's safe."

"And Matt?" I asked.

Stefan nodded his reply.

I rubbed my eyes.

"Everyone else is okay, too." he continued. "I guess Klaus was a liar after all. The only person affected by his death was..."

"Tyler." I finished. "The only person that died, was Tyler." I shook my head, pushing all emotions away. "Where's Alaric?"

"He's dead."

"He- that means-" I sat bolt upright in my bed, "you said Elena was safe!"

"She is."

"But-"

"Calm down." Stefan said, putting a hand on my forearm. I pulled my arm away from him. "Rayna, listen to me, she is safe."

"But she can't be. Stefan, Alaric's life was tied to either hers or mine. I'm still alive. And if she is too, then... That doesn't make any sense."

"She did die."

"What?! But you _just_ said-"

"Rain, listen. It's not gonna make sense if I don't explain. Earlier on, when Elena went to the hospital, her injuries were worse than Meredith let on. She had to use vampire blood to heal her, and when Matt's truck drove into the lake..." he ran a hand through his hair, a look of guilt etched onto his features. "I was too late. She was already dead."

It took several moments for me to process this information. "So, she's a vampire?"

He seemed surprised by my blunt question, "Uh, she's in transition."

I shrugged and sighed. It didn't matter to me much. Elena being a vampire. She would still be my sister, after all. "Okay. So her life was tied to Alaric's."

Stefan shuffled in his seat beside my bed. "Uh... Not exactly."

I looked up at him. "What? Tell me, Stefan."

"We don't know whose life was tied to Alaric's, because... Rayna, when I brought you out of the water you were... You were dead."

"Am I-"

"No, you're not in transition, but your necklace. The one John gave to you," he said, gesturing to the talisman around my neck. "Don't take it off."

"So, it brought me back to life? Like the Gilbert rings?"

"I don't know, yet." he admitted. "We'll ask Bonnie when we see her. I'm sure she'll know something... I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked, frowning.

"I should've done more to... I should have saved you. I promised you that I'd never let anyone hurt you, and-"

"No one did hurt me. It was an accident."

"Rebekah knew exactly what she was doing." he spoke bitterly.

I looked down, before throwing my arms around Stefan's neck, essentially attacking him with a lethal embrace. He laughed, and I could feel his body vibrate as he did so and he pulled me closer.

"What's this for?"

"I thought you were going to die." I told him quietly. "Can you take me to see Elena?"

"Sure." he said, as we pulled apart. "She's been in and out for a few hours now. She should wake up soon."

I nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Okay. I better get dressed first though." Stefan nodded, not moving. "Uh, Stefan. I'm gonna get changed now." He nodded again. "So... you know. If you could just... Leave. That would be great."

"Oh." he said, eyes widening and jumping to his feet. "Oh... Okay, I'll just, uh- yeah."

I shook my head, smirking, as Stefan left the room, closing my bedroom door behind him.

* * *

I slammed the car door shut behind me after pulling up in the hospital car park.

After going into my sister's room, and seeing she was still asleep, being watched over by a scowling Damon, I decided to go to the hospital where my skills could be put to better use.

After having a talk with Jeremy, I left the brooding-brothers and rushed to the hospital where I was hoping to also see Caroline.

It made em sick, thinking about what she must be going through.

I walked through the halls of the hospital, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Meredith.

"Hey, do you know where Matt is?" I asked her. She seemed distracted. "What?"

"I'm gonna get fired." she told me.

"What?"

"Oh my God. I'm gonna get fired..." she muttered. And then she walked away from me, shaking her head to herself as she did so.

Oh. Okay, then.

I felt someone bump into my shoulder as they walked past me. I watched as he walked away, in the direction of Meredith. I tilted my head to the side.

Pastor Young?

Eventually, I found Matt and Caroline in a private hospital room. As I opened the door, Matt looked up at me, startled, before relaxing visibly.

"It's just Ray." he announced.

A bunch of blonde curls flashed towards me, and Care wrapped her arms around me and held on tight.

"I'm so sorry." I told her. I looked over her shoulder, as she pulled away, at Matt. "Are you okay?" He nodded. "Why were you hiding?" I asked Care.

"Someone just came in." Matt explained. "Looking for Care."

"What?" I asked.

"Alaric told the council everything." Caroline said in a shaky voice. "They know about me, T-Tyler, Stefan, Damon... And you. They know about you. I'm not safe. Last night Tyler and I planned to run away, and then..."

I pulled her in for another hug. "Sh, sh. It's okay. It's okay. Do you want to stay at the Lake House for a while? It's outta town, and I'm sure they won't look there. Not a lot of people know about it, to be honest."

Care shook her head. "Thanks, but your parents used to be apart of the council. I'm sure they told at least some of them."

I nodded.

"C'mon." Matt told her. "I'll drive you home."

"You don't have a truck." she pointed out.

"Then I'll drive your car." he shrugged.

She smiled.

As I was walking back to the car, I heard my phone ringing. I took it out of my pocket to see who was calling, and paled when I saw it was Tyler.

_"Hello?"_ a feminine voice said from the other side.

"H-Hello, Mrs Lockwood?" I asked.

_"Hello, Rayna,"_ she replied. _"Tyler left his phone at home. I was wondering if you knew where he was?"_

I swallowed, a feeling of nausea washing over me.

_No one should find out like this. Not over the phone._

But I couldn't believe that nobody had thought to tell her yet.

"Uh..." It was then, that I saw a man standing next to mine and Elena's car. "I'm not sure."

_"Oh, he's always disappearing like this, I just wish he would choose a better time! He'll probably come back soon, anyway."_

"Probably."

_"Thank you, anyway."_ she sighed.

"I'm sorry."

_"What for? Sweety, you don't have to be sorry. It's not you responsibility to know where he is."_ she assured me. _"I better go, anyway. And if you see him, tell him I'm looking for him."_

"Sure. Look, Mrs Lockwood, I gotta go speak to Pastor Young." I said, keen to end this conversation.

_"Pastor Young?"_ she asked, her tone changing.

I nodded, as though she could see. "Yes."

_"Goodbye, Rayna. It was nice speaking to you again."_

"You too, Mrs Lockwood." I said.

And then she hung up.

I looked back at Pastor Young as I put my phone in my pocket, and smiled, though wearily. "What can I do you for?

"Let's skip the pleasantries, Miss Gilbert. You know that I am a part of the council, just as much as I know that you are very good at keeping your own secrets. But, unfortunately, not good enough."

Suddenly, I was surrounded by vaguely recognizable faces.

"I'm not a vampire." I said, calmly. "So, I have no desire to hurt any of you. However, I do have a black belt in karate."

"You see, Miss Gilbert," Pastor Young said, taking a step towards me. "There are vampires, and then there are those who protect vampires... all very much the same, if you ask me."

"Actually, the fact that right now my heart is going _baddum, baddum, baddum,_ kind of sets us apart, don't you think?"

"You're all murderers." He continued. "Even you."

Not a second later, someone who must have been standing behind me, placed a cloth over my mouth.

I struggled, but couldn't manage to keep my eyes open. The cloth smelt sweet.

Chloroform.

_For the love of-_

* * *

I opened my eyes, slowly, to see a pair of tired looking green-blue eyes.

"Care." I murmured. I tried to reach up to rub my temples, but with a start I realised I couldn't. My wrists were bound to the arm rests of the seat. "Oh, God." I said as I saw Rebekah sat on my left, both of them either side of me. We were all tied down in a truck, Rebekah still unconscious. "Of course they pick the women to kidnap. This is so degrading."

She laughed, but winced slightly.

I looked down at her wrists to see a slight amount of blood. The ropes were covered in vervain.

"We have to get out of here." I told her.

"I'm not strong enough to brake us out." she said. "But... maybe..." we both looked at Rebekah. And, as if on cue, the woman, perhaps responsible for my sister's death opened her eyes. She looked down at her ropes in confusion.

"Welcome to the damsel in distress club!" I said with false enthusiasm. "Today's activities include vervain ropes and twiddling our thumbs until help arrives!"

"Looks like Alaric outed us all to the council." Care said, glaring at Rebekah.

"The council?" Rebekah asked, before turning to me. She seemed guilty, but she looked away quickly and shook her head, squaring her shoulders."What exactly do they think they can do to _me_?"

At that moment, the sound of screeching tyres could be heard, and the truck swerved.

When I opened my scrunched up eye-lids, I was on my back.

I heard Caroline and Rebekah coughing.

"What the hell happened?!" Rebekah demanded.

The next few seconds happened so fast.

The doors at the back of the truck were both ripped off of their hinges.

My mouth dropped open and I looked at the boy who was watching me with something akin to relief, and untied the ropes around me.

"Tyler?" Care asked, staring at him.

"I'm harder to kill than you think." he said.

He lifted me to my feet, and told Caroline and I to go. Care grabbed me and flashed us both away.

Soon, we were standing in the woods.

"How are you alive?" I asked, moments before Caroline literally jumped on him.

Tyler's eyes widened as she pressed her lips to his.

Something wasn't right. I could sense it.

"Easy, love." Tyler said. "Wrong time, wrong place, wrong equipment."

_WHAT THE-_

Caroline moved to kiss him again, but I put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from him. She looked at me in confusion, but I kept my eyes trained on Tyler.

"Did you just call her _love_?"

Care looked to Tyler, eyes wide in realisation, and we both watched as his demeanour changed. His back straightened, and he looked at me with dark familiar eyes.

"I don't know, _love_. Did I?"

"What the hell did you do to Tyler?" I demanded, while Caroline wiped her mouth with her sleeve, a look of disgust and anger on her face.

"That's what I enjoy about you. So much more than a pretty face." Klaus said.

I looked at him, my eyes wide. I hadn't wanted to be right, but I was. This was Klaus, not Tyler.

Klaus had let me think that he and my friend were dead.

"Oh my God. You're Klaus." Care said. "You're disgusting!"

"And you're a glorious kisser."

I curled my fists into balls at my sides and withheld a smirk as my best friend punched him in the face.

His breathing became louder and he glared at her.

She turned and looked at me, smoothing out her clothes, "I'll be over there, rethinking my life." she announced, in a very dramatic-Caroline like way. "And holding my hand because it hurts."

I glared at Klaus as she walked into the distance.

"Look," he said, "I didn't have to risk exposure to come and save you, and I certainly didn't have to save her."

"You didn't have to do a lot of things, _Niklaus_." I spat. "You didn't have to make me think that my sister was dead. You didn't have to lock me away, screaming, wondering if I was ever gonna see her again! You didn't have to make me think Tyler had died! You didn't have to make me think that you were dead! Don't pretend you did anything for me. Stefan's right! You're just selfish, and everything you do is for your own personal gain! Put Tyler back."

"You know what? I'm not sure I will. Perhaps I'll just stay like this and enjoy the luxuries that come with Tyler Lockwood's form." he said, eyes flickering to where Caroline had walked away.

I pulled back my fist and punched him in the jaw.

"Now, now, Rayna," he chastised. "You're beginning to look a little on the green side."

"I'm not jealous!"

He smirked, that infuriating smirk, before walking past me.

"I'm not jealous!" I called after him.

* * *

"She said she's not strong enough!" Jeremy argued, glancing sideways at me.

"She said she was strong enough to put me in here," Klaus started. "surely she's strong enough to get me out."

"I upset the spirits trying to save Elena, I can't use that kind of magic again. It's too dangerous." Bonnie shrugged.

"Why were you trying to save Elena?" I asked.

"I was trying to bring part of her back from the other side, so she could stay human."

"Are you stupid, Bonnie?! Oh my God, she's in transition. There is nothing we can do to change that!"

"I realise that now." she said irritably. I could see that she was on edge, and she looked extremely tired.

"Bonnie, do the bloody spell!" Klaus yelled.

"She said she can't, Klaus." I snapped, glaring at him. "Bon, it's fine, we can- we can just wait until you're sure you can do it safely."

He looked down, and ripped a part of his shirt, before his claws appeared on Tyler's finger tips.

He plunged his claws into Tyler's chest and let out a cry of pain.

"What are you doing?!" Care asked.

"Ripping Tyler's heart out. I'll jump into someone else. Maybe you." he added, looking at Jeremy.

"No, Stop!"

"Stop it, Klaus!" I cried.

"He's bluffing, he needs a witch to do that." Jeremy said.

_Does it matter?_ I thought. The fact of the matter was: he was threatening to kill one of my friends. For the gazillionth time.

"What makes you think I won't have one? Or ten! Pick, Bonnie! You, or Tyler!"

"STOP, PLEASE, YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Care screamed.

"Fine, I'll do it!" Bonnie cried. "Just stop!"

He pulled his hand out of Tyler's chest. "Good. Let's begin."

* * *

"This is black magic. She shouldn't be doing this." Jeremy said, as we watched Bonnie chant, her hands either side of Klaus... Tyler's head.

Tyler opened his eyes.

"Tyler?" Care asked, beaming.

"Caroline." he smiled, trying to stand up. "Hey."

He frowned, and fell down on to the floor. Caroline ran to his side, but I stayed with my brother, looking at Bonnie warily.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Jeremy asked as she continued to chant. "Bonnie, it worked, stop."

Bonnie opened her eyes, "What's happening?" she asked, her forearms outstretched. It was clear that she was looking at something that we could not see. "Let me go. Let me go!"

"Bonnie, what's happening?" Care asked.

"She can't see us." I murmured.

Bonnie started breathing heavily. "Why can't I let go?!"

"Bonnie, stop the spell!" Jeremy yelled.

"I'm sorry, Grams!" she cried. "PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS TO HER! NO! NOOOOO! OH MY GOD!" she fell to her knees, tears falling from her eyes. "WHAT HAVE I DONE? What did I do?!" she sobbed. "What did I do?! What did I do?"

* * *

I slammed the car door shut, after walking back to the hospital to get it, I had driven home. My eyes widened when I saw that Elena was, in fact, sat on the roof with Stefan, sharing a moment.

She noticed me straight away, and seemed unsure, but when I smiled, she did the same, looking a little relieved.

I watched as Stefan picked her up and suddenly they were both stood infront of me.

"I-"

"I know." I told her. "But it's okay. I don't hate you, I could never hate you, Elena. I'm gonna help you. Okay? I'll make sure you don't hurt anyone. You don't have to go through this alone. I'll be there every step of the way. You're still the same person."

That last comment seemed to hit home, and she beamed at me, eyes welling with tears, and she walked towards me slwoly, carefully, before wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back, and saw Stefan smiling at me. I smiled back, before hearing my sister inhale my scent.

I tried my best to remain calm, and keep my heart beat even, as she pulled away, the veins underneath her eyes black.

She turned away. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay." I assured her. "But, guys, I think we have a problem."

"What?" Stefan asked.

"How are we gonna tell the difference between Elena and Katherine now?"

* * *

I was running.

Running through the woods, through the trees.

There was blood, all over my hands.

I kept on seeing his face, at every turn, every bend.

I skidded to a halt as he appeared in front of me.

"Do you actually think that your parents would be proud of you?" Alaric asked.

"Get away from me!"

I turned around to run away, but suddenly he was blocking my path.

"They wouldn't, Rayna. In fact, they would despise the person you have become."

"No, they wouldn't."

"Yes, they would, and deep down you know that it's true. Rayna, listen to me. You can protect him. You can protect Jeremy. You can save him."

"What about Elena?" I asked. "Can't I save her to?"

He sighed, and held out the white oak stake towards me. I took it, and looked down at it in my hands, the silver glistening in the moonlight.

"She is a vampire, now, Rayna. There is no saving them."

I woke up with and ran a hand through my tangled hair, before burying my face in my pillow.

* * *

**A/N- THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM LAST CHAPTER! I am hoping to update this more often from now on. **

**How did I do? Was it good? I'm not too pleased with this, but I do hope you all enjoyed it. Please review/PM and let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**All these PMs, these follows, these favorites, these reviews... It's amazing. THANK YOU! I looked at my account today and I felt so loved! And then I remembered it's Rayna you all like, not me... It was quite a depressing realisation, but ANYWAY, here is another chapter! Quite late, I know. Sorry... Oh, and this is late too, but Happy Christmas and Merry New Year to all of you!**

* * *

I winced as Stefan yanked out another wooden bullet from Tyler's torso. According to Tyler, some guy suspected of being a vampire hunter had shot him. I was just glad the jerk hadn't gotten to Caroline as well.

"Please tell me that's the last one." Caroline said, as Stefan ripped out another bullet.

"All this blood is making us squeamish." I said.

"Ladies should not be subjected to _this_." Care added.

"I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience." Tyler bit out.

"No need to be so stressy." I muttered, completely forgetting that he could still hear me.

If looks could kill...

"These were specially carved." Stefan spoke as he examined the bullet being held by a pair of pliers. "The length, the width... If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead." Stefan told Tyler.

Now I was _very_ glad the hunter hadn't gotten to Care.

"This guy knew what he was doing." Tyler said. "His gloves must have been steeped in vervain. He was looking for a vampire and he didn't hesitate for a second when he found one."

"These etching..." Stefan trailed off, touching the bullet. He winced and pulled his hand away, as though he'd been burnt.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Are the bullets spelled?"

"I dunno... They're something."

There was a long silence.

"Are those all the bullets?" Care asked.

"Yeah." Stefan said.

I kneeled down beside Stefan and examined one of the bullets. There was so much detail in just one tiny piece of wood.

"Well?" Caroline asked. "Are they spelled?"

"Hold on while I grab my magic detector." I said sarcastically. "How should I know? Ask B-" No. Asking Bonnie wasn't an option. Not anymore.

Why?

One word.

Klaus.

Tyler sighed and stood up. He winced in pain, but tried to mask it quickly. Not quick enough for everyone in the room to notice.

"Sit down. I'll get it." Care said, shaking her head and grabbing Tyler's shirt.

"You should be more careful. All of you." I told them. "I know this is going to be a massive blow to your ego, guys, but you're not invincible."

Tyler scoffed. "Please. It'll take more than some wooden bullets to keep me down."

"And what makes you think this hunter doesn't have more than just wooden bullets? They're obviously spelled, or something. But if they're not... It could be even worse. So we're _not_ dealing with something that we know, meaning if something worse were to happen, we'd have no way of fixing it, Tyler. And I think there is a lesson here for all of us. Don't have sex before marriage, because you'll pay for it." I told them, eyeing Caroline and Tyler sternly.

The two delinquents had just been, er... You know what, when it had happened afterwards. They'd also been skipping school.

"And don't skip school." I added.

* * *

I stood in the doorway to my sister's room as she examined herself in the mirror the next day. She was wearing peach-ish dress. And it was nice, but she looked miserable. Her expression was usually more bright when she looked at herself, and why not? She was gorgeous. But today she was miserable.

"You look guilty." I told my sister.

She turned her head and faced me, putting on what she must have thought was a convincing smile. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"Liar."

"It's just... Today, it's... My emotions are heightened now and with most of the council gone, I just..."

"Li-ar." I sang. "Just tell me, Elena. What did you do?"

She shifted on her feet.

I sighed. "Elena, honey... Spit it out. A problem shared is a problem halved."

"I drank Damon's blood yesterday."

I'm not sure what I had been expecting. It certainly wasn't _that_.

"But you're with Stefan."

"I know, but... I mean, it was only blood sharing. It wasn't anything... Anyway, you should get ready for the service. It's starting soon."

"You need to tell Stefan."

"I can't-"

"Why not? You said it was no big deal, why not tell Stefan?"

"I'll talk to you later." she said, before leaving to go to the church, I presumed. Or to run into Damon's arms.

Either seemed plausible.

* * *

_"Oh my God." _My best friend's voice crackled from the other side of the phone.

"I know."

_"But she chose Stefan,"_ Caroline said indignantly.

"I know."

_"Oh my God!"_

"I know."

_"What are you going to do? Are you gonna tell him?"_

"I don't know. I don't want to hurt him but-"

_"He deserves to know the truth."_ she finished. _"Are you going to the Memorial?"_

"Yeah. After I go and visit Bonnie with Stefan. He's picking me up soon."

_"Tyler's picking me up soon, too. Any visions about what might happen today? Apparently this hunter might make an appearance."_

"Oh, he will. It's too convenient a setting for him not to. All the vampires in one place."

The doorbell rang. I picked up the bag of food and slung it over my shoulder.

_"What are you gonna do?"_ Care asked, having heard the doorbell.

"I don't know. See ya."

_"Okay, sit next to me in the service and give me all the goss-" _

I hung up as I opened the front door.

"Hey." Stefan said, smiling.

I took a deep breath. "Hey."

"You okay?" he asked, frowning. "You look exhausted."

I hadn't been sleeping the past few nights. Elena was living with us and, while I trusted her, she wasn't always in control. So most nights I would sit on the bathroom floor, with only my phone as a light, of the bathroom between Elena's and Jeremy's rooms. I couldn't afford to have her go for a midnight snack and come across my brother.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I told him, smiling. He didn't look all too convinced but he didn't question me, he merely gestured towards his car.

The drive to Bonnie's house was awkward. Stefan kept on trying to start conversations, and I'd reply with simply one word answers. He was so... Happy. Because Elena had chose him. And I knew if I told him about Damon it would hurt him. That was the last thing I wanted.

And I couldn't tell him Elena still had feelings for Damon. Which I knew she did, I was her sister. I just knew. But I would never tell Stefan that. It would destroy him.

I was jealous. Perhaps of how happy he was, but at the same time I was happy that he had found happiness. He seemed so content that it _hurt_. He started talking about how well Elena's training was going, and he sounded so proud of her. But I wasn't. I was ashamed of my sister and how she had them both wrapped around her finger.

I wouldn't have minded, had she made a choice, which technically she had but if she'd gone to Damon for help and not Stefan then I guessed she hadn't.

"Bonnie, I know you're in there." Stefan said after knocking on the door for the tenth time. "I can hear your breathing. Bonnie please, it's important."

The door opened not long afterwards. She'd been crying.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, as I moved to hug her.

"Can I come in?" Stefan asked gently, not being able to answer.

I felt Bonnie nod.

* * *

"...It was like she was dying all over again. Just because I didn't listen to her about doing black magic."

"Well, it's the other side." Stefan said. "It's not reliable. The witches were probably just messing with your head, trying to teach you a lesson."

"Well, it worked. I tried to do a basic nature spell this morning just to clear my head and it just brought it all back. Like it was happening all over again. Sorry, I'm a mess, I've been hold up in here avoiding everyone, I've completely blown off Jamie..."

I was going to ask if she wanted to stay at my house, but stopped myself. I was already protecting Jeremy from Elena. Bonnie had no magic now and I couldn't protect two people 24/7.

"Has anyone else come?" I asked.

"Caroline came earlier and so did Matt. Elena's been busy, I guess. With everything... How is she?"

"She's doing well." Stefan told her.

Bonnie smiled, and then an odd expression came on her face, before she shook her head. "You came here, because you needed something, right?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Stefan said, "But, it can wait."

"Come on, Stefan, I'm okay. Come on you're not exactly just a drop-by kinda guy. If something's wrong, tell me."

"Alright." Stefan said, and while he showed her the bullets he'd yanked out of Tyler, I walked through to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Empty. Just as I'd suspected. Bonnie hadn't been shopping.

Well, I wasn't about to let her go hungry.

I pulled the bag off of my shoulder and pulled out the food before putting it in the fridge for her.

* * *

I walked on the dry grass with Stefan and we headed towards the church. We'd both gone home to get changed after bidding Bonnie farewell.

And we stopped walking when we saw Damon and Elena standing by a tree, his hand on her chin and the other caressing her hair. And I looked at Stefan. He was frowning, but not out of confusion. He was thinking, and probably listening in on them. Elena then scurried away and into the church. She was now wearing a black dress.

Hadn't it been peach before?

And Stefan walked towards Damon, be trailing after him, wondering when it became so normal for Stefan to see Elena so close with his brother.

But I stopped walking and my pupils dilated. My vision became blurred.

I saw Jeremy sat down in the church. "Hey, Rain, have you seen April?... April Young? She's back in town."

Then the scene changed and I could see a girl standing on the altar. Elena.

With gun aimed at her head.

Suddenly, I was back in the present. Stefan and Damon were talking some five metres away, oblivious of me. So I made my way to the church, and climbed up the stairs slowly. Silently.

I froze in position and peaked around the corner, sat down on the stairs, and saw an older replica of April. She'd grown up a lot since the last time I had seen her, but what drew my attention was the pool of her own blood that she was sat in, and the ropes around her.

April was one hundred percent human. The most innocent person you could meet, and this ass hole with a gun decides to kidnap and hurt her.

I was pretty angry, really.

But it was okay, I could save April, because I had a plan.

Follow my instincts.

Yep. Best plan ever.

* * *

"Please turn to page 42 in your hym book." the new priest's voice came. I was glad. At least Elena wasn't a valid target any more, and no _way_ would this guy shoot a priest. "Let us join together in song."

I had managed to tip toe so that I was just behind the hunter.

Bringing the small knife out of my small bag, I pulled my arm back before plunging it towards the hunter, but it never hit him.

The guy had better instincts than I had originally anticipated. At the last second he had spun around and now had a firm grip on my wrist. He glared at me shortly before I kneed him in the crotch. Hard.

"Excuse me," Tyler's voice sounded. I looked away from the hunter for a second, and at Tyler. "I just want to say a few words about Pastor Young."

I felt a hand around my kneck and he threw me down to the floor, still holding me by the neck.

He then stood up, replacing his hand with his food and he looked back to Tyler, holding the gun once more.

I had to think. I wanted to do something, anything. But my options were limited because if I moved, the pressure his foot was releasing on my neck would worsen. And then I'd be a gonner.

So I reached to pick up the small knife from the ground beside me, but it was just out of reach. I stretched my arm even further and a massive grin split my face as my fingers enclosed around the hilt.

Not a second before I plunged the knife into his calf, he'd made his shot.

I felt as though someone was choking me, as I heard his mother's scream. The hunter was crying out in pain and trying to gather his things all at the same time.

But I didn't care.

I stood up and my eyes widened. Tyler was lying on the altar, motionless.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" I asked as everyone crowded around the benches, handing out lanterns.

"Stefan, what are we doing?" Damon asked as he and Bonnie arrived.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier." Stefan explained. "We need to start healing, Damon. We've all lost so much, especially recently. We're... Numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it. Ignore how we feel. We should just let ourself grieve."

"So you're lighting lanterns?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I don't get this either." I said.

"Yeah." Stefan said. "We need to do this."

"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is, and what he knows about the death of the council." Damon argued. "We have more important things to be doing now than... _this_."

"Not tonight we don't." Stefan replied. "This is for my uncle Zach, for my friend Lexi... For Alaric." Stefan said before lighting his lantern.

He then handed the lighter to Matt. "This is for Vicki."

He then handed the lighter to Care. "This is for my dad. And Tyler's."

Next it was Jeremy's turn. He looked at me and Elena. "This is for our parents, for Vicki, Anna, Jenna and Alaric."

My brother then made the mistake of handing the lighter to Damon, who didn't take it. "No way, I'm not doing it." he said before stalking off.

Bonnie's turn.

"This is for my Grams."

"This, um, is for my mom," Elena said, "And my dad. And... For me, I guess."

I was angry. I didn't know why. It was like every thing over the past year came rushing back at once.

Or maybe I did know why.

She handed me the lighter. I took it.

"This is for Alaric, Jenna, and John." I said, before looking directly at my sister. "Remember them?"

* * *

**Elena and Rayna tensions again. Opinions on that? I miss Klaus. Don't you? This is episode 2 done, I think he returns in episode 4... Hmmm...**

**Opinions?**


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